Summer warming explains widespread but not uniform greening in the Arctic tundra biome

Logan T. Berner (), Richard Massey, Patrick Jantz, Bruce C. Forbes, Marc Macias-Fauria, Isla Myers-Smith, Timo Kumpula, Gilles Gauthier, Laia Andreu-Hayles, Benjamin V. Gaglioti, Patrick Burns, Pentti Zetterberg, Rosanne D’Arrigo and Scott J. Goetz
Additional contact information
Logan T. Berner: Northern Arizona University
Richard Massey: Northern Arizona University
Patrick Jantz: Northern Arizona University
Bruce C. Forbes: University of Lapland
Marc Macias-Fauria: University of Oxford
Isla Myers-Smith: University of Edinburgh
Timo Kumpula: University of Eastern Finland
Gilles Gauthier: Université Laval
Laia Andreu-Hayles: Columbia University
Benjamin V. Gaglioti: University of Alaska Fairbanks
Patrick Burns: Northern Arizona University
Pentti Zetterberg: University of Eastern Finland
Rosanne D’Arrigo: Columbia University
Scott J. Goetz: Northern Arizona University

Nature Communications, 2020, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract Arctic warming can influence tundra ecosystem function with consequences for climate feedbacks, wildlife and human communities. Yet ecological change across the Arctic tundra biome remains poorly quantified due to field measurement limitations and reliance on coarse-resolution satellite data. Here, we assess decadal changes in Arctic tundra greenness using time series from the 30 m resolution Landsat satellites. From 1985 to 2016 tundra greenness increased (greening) at ~37.3% of sampling sites and decreased (browning) at ~4.7% of sampling sites. Greening occurred most often at warm sampling sites with increased summer air temperature, soil temperature, and soil moisture, while browning occurred most often at cold sampling sites that cooled and dried. Tundra greenness was positively correlated with graminoid, shrub, and ecosystem productivity measured at field sites. Our results support the hypothesis that summer warming stimulated plant productivity across much, but not all, of the Arctic tundra biome during recent decades.

Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-18479-5

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